Stock market today: Nifty50 opens in red ahead of RBI policy; BSE Sensex down over 100 points

Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the Indian equity benchmark indices, opened in red ahead of the RBI monetary policy. While Nifty50 opened below 25,600, BSE Sensex was down over 100 points. At 9:17 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 25,594.35, down 48 points or 0.19%. BSE Sensex was at 83,203.83, down 110 points or 0.13%.Indian equity markets moved within a narrow band on Thursday, reflecting investor caution amid the absence of fresh domestic triggers. Market participants largely adopted a wait-and-watch approach, with analysts noting that benchmark indices continued to consolidate without establishing a clear directional trend.Analysts said the Nifty remained confined to a tight range, as repeated attempts to sustain gains or extend declines failed to hold, indicating ongoing consolidation in the market.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “There is a risk-off sentiment in global markets. Bitcoin has crashed to below $ 64000. Silver is down to $71 from the recent peak of 121. Even the safe-haven gold has turned weak despite huge uncertainty in global geopolitics. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has been steadily weakening and is now 6% down from its peak. The selloff in tech and AI stocks and a departure from AI trade would be good for India in the medium-term, but for that further weakening of the AI trade is required. So, watch out for the trend in AI stocks. FIIs again turning sellers in India and increasing their short positions in the derivative markets indicates further weakness in the market in the near-term.”“A positive trigger for the market in the form of rate cut from the MPC is unlikely today since the MPC is expected to hold rates. Any change in the stance also is unlikely. However the tone of the policy can be dovish and the Central Bank may revise the growth targets for FY27 upwards improving sentiments.”Global market cues were weak, adding to the cautious sentiment. S&P 500 futures declined 0.9 percent as of 9:12 a.m. Tokyo time. Hang Seng futures slipped 1.4 percent, while Japan’s Topix index fell 1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.6 percent, and Euro Stoxx 50 futures were down 1.1 percent.Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading shares worth Rs 2,150 crore on Thursday. Domestic institutional investors, however, provided support, emerging as net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,130 crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)